Reminds me of home without the meat and consistent nagging. The best part about this dish is that it's versatile! Try it with different kinds of vegetables...
Ingredients:
12 oz. Bag of Frozen Peas (and Carrots if available)
Box of Firm Tofu
1 Small Yellow Onion
Cooked Medium Grain Rice
Garlic Powder
Soy Sauce
Salt
Black Pepper
Canola Oil or Sesame Oil
First cook about 2 cups of rice in rice cooker. Prepare to cook by chopping the onions. Usually the rice takes about 20 minutes to cook. Once you've reached close to 20 minutes, take a fork and pre-mash the tofu. Then take a quarter of the frozen veggies bag and 2 Tbsp of oil and dump into pan. Heat the veggies until thawed. Place chopped onions in pan. Throw the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook until soften. Throw in the mashed tofu. Stir. Now spoon in the cooked rice. Add about 2 Tbsp of soy sauce.
Salt, pepper, and soy sauce to taste. Gobble it up.
With all of the family stuff I had to do the last couple of weeks and Halloween, I have been remiss in my regular cooking habits. But, I'm back today. The night before Super Tuesday is a chilly one in Los Angeles and it inspired me to make some warm yummy curry. All you need here are a few ingredients to get you going.
Ingredients:
10 Baby Carrots, sliced
5-8 Mint Leaves, chopped
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, sliced
1/2 of a Ginger, minced
1 Tbs of Canola Oil
1 Package of Thai Baked Tofu from Trader Joe's, sliced
1 Jar of Green Thai Curry Sauce from Trader Joe's
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Black Pepper
Dash of Garlic Powder
Rice
If you want to serve your dish over rice you can save time by cooking it before you start preparing the ingredients. When you're ready, place the sliced carrots in a pan with some water. Boiling the carrots first will soften them enough to be able to sauté them with the peppers. Poke the carrots with a fork to make sure they are soft enough. You want your carrots to still be a bit crunchy so don't boil them for too long. Next heat a pan with oil. In the meantime, drain your carrots. Throw in the salt, pepper, ginger, garlic powder, peppers, mint and carrots into the pan. Stir. Keep cooking for a few minutes until the peppers soften a little. Now you can put the tofu in. Stir. If the ingredients start to dry out stir in a little curry sauce. Keep stirring. Once the mint looks a little cooked. Pour in the rest of the sauce to finish. Place lid over pan to let the steam heat the sauce and cook the vegetables a little more.
The sauce from Trader Joe's is a bit tangy so it's perfect over rice!
I can attest that this recipe is super yummy. It might even convince you carrot haters out there to start eating carrots (or not)! This simple dish can compliment other dishes really well. For example, I made the carrots and then cooked a separate batch of green beans. Then took a little of both and packed them over brown rice for lunch. I could just tell that my co-workers were envious!Required: Carrots, Olive Oil, Salt, Sugar, Black PepperFirst, you should julienne the carrots. Julienning is essentially cutting a food item into thin long strips. I used baby carrots and sliced them in half first. Then I took my knife and cut them thinly at approximately a 45 degree angle. This helps make them nice and thin!Poor about 3-5 Tbsp of Olive oil into a pan. Just realize that the ratio should match how much carrots you're using. Since I usually only cook for myself, I'll make a little more than I need so I can have leftovers for lunch or the following evening. If you need more olive oil, you can always add more. Set the stove to high heat. Wait until pan heats up and then add the carrots. Cook carrots until a little brownish and soft. In the meantime, add 1-2 tsp of sugar. Make sure you stir thoroughly, you want it to mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.Simple, easy, fast, good, and good for you!
Cold Tahini Noodles are great for the hot weather. Inspired by the Vegan Yum Yum recipe and the Real Food Daily Sesame noodles (no longer on the menu)... here is a nice almost raw and all vegan cold noodle recipe. This recipe takes a little preparation, but it's fairly easy to make.
Required: Broccoli, Carrots, Cabbage, Linguine Noodles, Tahini, Mint, Sugar, Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Mustard, Salt, Black Pepper
Optional: Sesame seeds, Shiitake Mushrooms
First before doing anything you should boil the noodles. I used Linguine which I thought was the perfect noodle for this dish.
Next, prepare the Tahini dressing-like sauce with the following:
1/4 cup Tahini
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp Water
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
1 tsp Red Chili
1 tsp Mustard (I used Dijon)
1 pinch salt to taste
Dashes of Black Pepper
Mix all of the above in a bowl. Use a whisk until completely mixed. Let sit. In the meantime, check on your boiling water and noodles. When the noodles are finished please drain and run cold water over the strain. Place a few drops of olive oil in the pasta. Let it sit in the refrigerator.
Chop your broccoli into smaller pieces. I got my broccoli from Trader Joe's so I just cut the small pieces in quarters. Then take two carrots, peel and slice. Take 1/4 of your cabbage and shred. I don't have a shredder so I just sliced the cabbage thinly with a knife. Mix the veggies together. For giggles, I added some cooked shiitake mushrooms. I cooked them in oil and soy sauce. Mix all of the veggies in one bowl.
Once your noodles have been chilled enough, take them out of the fridge. Place some in a bowl. Add the semi raw veggies. Add some sesame seeds. Stir in the Tahini sauce. Mix well. Try not to put in too much since it might get salty quickly. Add some chopped mint leaves. Keep stirring until you see the sauce completely covering everything!
Taste the sauce before you add it to your noodle dish. You want to make sure the sauce is to your liking so you can adjust the ingredients before mixing it with your veggies.
Lastly, throw on some chopped mint leaves as garnish!
Pictured here are some julienned carrots and a stuffed portobello mushroom. Thank you guest chef Steve for making the yummy carrots!
Julienned Carrots
Required: Carrots, Spinach, Canola Oil, Sugar, Salt, Soy Sauce, Black pepper
First you'll want to take your desired amount of carrots. We used baby carrots so it was easier to cut them. Julienne basically means to cut into long thin strips. Steve prepared this, by cutting the carrots first. Mix 1 1/2 of Tbsp of oil, 1 Tbsp of sugar, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, salt, black pepper in a separate bowl. Make sure the pan is heated for a few seconds before placing the mix in. Place the carrots in the pan. Use high heat. The carrots should caramelize a little. Stir. Once the carrots look nearly blackened on one side, you'll want to put in some spinach. Carrots should be crunchy on the inside and sweet on the outside. Spinach goes into the pan last since it cooks very quickly. Add salt to taste.
Stuffed Portobello Mushroom
Required: Broccoli, Tofu, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Onions, Black pepper, Salt, Olive Oil, Garlic, Cayenne Pepper
For this dish, you'll need to preheat your oven at 350 degrees. Make sure you have a small oven tray or baking sheet to place the stuffed mushroom on. You could also use aluminum foil if you don't have either.
Prepare a mushroom or two by chopping off the stem and boiling for a little bit in a pot. For the stuffing, take a few pieces of broccoli and mince. You'll want to do the same to the onion. Use about half of a block of tofu. Smoosh with fork in a bowl. Oil your pan. Throw in the onions and a small clove of garlic. Stir. Cook onions until soft. Next throw in broccoli. Finally toss in the tofu. Continue stirring. Add some cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt for taste. I like it spicy so I put in a little more cayenne pepper than usual. Keep stirring.
Once your mushroom is cooked, place it on the baking sheet. Spoon in some stuffing. Top it off with a lot of cheddar cheese. It's better if you use more than you think you'll need. Take your baking sheet and place it in the oven. Cook until cheese is fully melted. I would give it a good 10-15 minutes depending on how quickly your oven cooks.
It sounds complicated, but this stuffed mushroom is really not hard to make at all. It does take a bit more preparation and it's a small and light meal. Don't expect to be very full after having one mushroom. Personally, I had a fun time making it and it was super yummy!
Reminds me of home without the meat and consistent nagging. The best part about this dish is that it's versatile! Try it with different kinds of vegetables...
